Math-Empowered Updates to Bus Transportation

HCPSS recently adopted a new, state-of-the-art mathematical modeling tool to make its school bus operations the most efficient and cost-effective transportation system of its kind. The school system benefited from the expertise of the University of Maryland’s A. James Clark School of Engineering—specifically Dr. Ali Haghani, a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and its QUEST Honors program—to design the modeling tool to evaluate bus route efficiency.

“Collaborating with our state’s flagship research university was a very innovative project,” said David Ramsay, HCPSS transportation director. “We’re very excited to offer Howard County families the most optimized transportation operations that can be designed.”

The tool has been used to analyze efficiencies in current HCPSS bus routes, contributing to safety or service quality. Currently, 453 HCPSS school buses travel more than 30,000 miles each day to transport students to the 76 Howard County public elementary, middle and high schools.

“It’s one state agency serving another state agency. That’s what is important about this…besides the benefits in terms of cost savings and more efficient performance of school bus services,” said Haghani.